How Does The Green Line Extension Go A BILLION Dollars Over Budget?

(Source) – The highly touted project to extend the Green Line from East Cambridge through Somerville and into Medford is in jeopardy. MBTA officials revealed at a board meeting Monday that the much-needed 4.3 mile extension is facing additional costs that could add $1 billion to a budget that is already at roughly $2.3 billion. The first three stations of the project were originally budgeted at $387 million, but since Skanska Kiewit with its unique procurement arrangement took over, the price for the new facilities at Lechmere Station, Union Square, and Washington Street in Somerville has ballooned to $898 million.

A billion dollars? A billion dollars over budget? I don’t understand a thing about that. I feel like when Oscar is trying to explain being under budget to Michael and Michael says “explain it like I’m 5…. ok now explain it like I’m 3.” Oh so this is like when you ask your parents for money for a lemonade stand and then say actually it’s gonna cost a billion dollars more? Yeah, still don’t understand. Listen I’ve fibbed about prices before. When I was a kid and shopped with my mom? If something was priced at like 26.99 I’d tell her it was 26 bucks. Yup, we were 99 cents over budget on every item in that bitch. But that’s understandable. Budgets are a way to say “Here’s the ballpark,” they’re not a way of saying “Hey it might be this price or we might need to ask for another Doctor Evil size of money.”